


Are Redemption and Change Really the Same Thing?

by FaustsMephistopheles



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Apologies, F/M, Forgiveness, Friendship/Love, Slow Burn, mutual understanding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-20 13:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4788212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaustsMephistopheles/pseuds/FaustsMephistopheles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about how Hermione Granger's interest in the state of Draco Malfoy's soul gets piqued by an intriguing, chance encounter in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts' Library one evening. The relatively new Charms Professor begins to notice things about the brand new Potions Master that she had previously overlooked, and she begins to wonder if there is hope for him yet. Has he changed and even if he has, is change really the same thing as redemption? Does she really care?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Chance Encounter and Piqued Interest

**Author's Note:**

> So, Lumione is my real ship, but I’ve had this particular fic floating around in my head for a while now, so I decided to type it out. This fic will start tame, but it won’t stay that way. Also, these opening chapter will be short, but I am planning on having them longer in the future. Thank you for working with me here, and I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions if you feel compelled. I would like to hear from any readers I may get :)

She was in the restricted section again and as per usual she was the only one there. Not much has changed since she was a student she supposed.

This section of the library was one of her favorite places on campus for a multitude of reasons. For one, it was always silent. Secondly, and arguably more importantly, it was away from the rest of the school population, so she could get her work and research done in peace. She had an office in which she could take refuge, but it did not hold the same appeal, and she was more likely to suffer interruptions there, as she had an open door policy. Anyone who knew her would immediately see why being in a space like the restricted section would be a draw for her; Nothing could compare to being surrounded by books and untapped knowledge. What was known by none other than herself, however, was why this is where she came whenever she was feeling down, or couldn’t sleep, or just needed an exhilarating jolt. It was because, here, she felt like a true Gryffindor. Like she was being brave and rebellious by being in the restricted section, looking at information forbidden to the rest of the school community, or most of it at least. Although this feeling dissipated ever so slightly when she was given permission to be here by Professor McGonagall, she still felt like she was doing something she shouldn’t be. She felt like a timid seventeen year-old who just gained the legal right to watch Rated-R movies, but whom is still wary of going that which, for so long, was taboo.

The second that reasoning popped into her head, she laughed heartily out loud; She was probably the only muggle that analogy would resonate with. She quickly silenced herself and looked around. When she remembered how late it was and how utterly alone she was, she laughed aloud once more, but this time at her foolishness. Ron and Harry would have laughed too had they had been there and heard her thoughts. They probably would have called her a dork. She, self admittedly, was, but she most likely would have gotten slightly mad and smacked them over the head with a book or something. It was times like these when she was the most content but also the most nostalgic. It was times like these when she missed them the most and realized that something in her life here at Hogwarts was missing. This school would never been the same without them by her side. Every hallway, every nook and cranny held memories of their time spent here together, but she resolved to make memories of her own to add to the old ones. Ron and Harry would want that for her. They were off making their own new memories as aurors, so why should she not do the same? The Ministry had told her that there would always be a position waiting for her should she want it in the future, but she had chosen this path. For now at least, she was a going to be the Charms teachers here at Hogwarts and perhaps down the road she would ask for a position at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She did not regret her decision at all. There were times when she questioned it, but she never regretted it. She loved it here more than anywhere in the world, but, she had to admit, the school did lack some of its original luster now that her two best friends where no longer there. Maybe saying that it had lost its luster was not entirely fair. Perhaps it had just changed and was waiting for her to figure that out. Regardless, she would see her friends around Christmas time for the Yule Ball, as they came every year to pay tribute to their old alma mater. She would proceed to spend the rest of the holiday season with the Weasley’s like always. Granted, doing so might be more awkward than usual, given her’s and Ron’s current relationship status...

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She made her way through the shelves, and when she reached the ladder she was looking for, she climbed up and pulled down _Moste Potente Potions_ by Phineas Bourne. It was the same copy that she used during 1st year to make that decidedly disastrous Polyjuice Potion. She shivered at the thought. She could not believe that it had already been 4 year since she finished her N.E.W.T.S. and 5 years since The Battle of Hogwarts. Sometimes it felt like it was just yesterday that everything happened. At times she worried that, one day, she would wake-up in the morning to find that the past few years of relative peace had been a dream and that in reality she was still fighting Lord Voldemort alongside Ron and Harry. Paradoxically, although she was only 24 she felt as though she should be older, that she had skipped childhood and had been an adult forever. Perhaps that is what war does to a person. She marveled at the though for a while, never really having given thoughts like that the time of day before. Intuitively she knew she was a product of war, but... She shook head. She did not want to think about it anymore. That is why she was here in the first place; to put those kinds of thoughts as far out of her minds reach as possible. The nighttime always seemed to know her secrets and drag up old and painful memories, so sometimes laying in bed, begging for sleep to take her, was worse than just fighting the exhaustion and getting things done.

She took a seat at the desk nearest her, and as soon as she had flicked the desk light on and had gotten herself settled, she heard footsteps coming towards her. It was 3 o’clock in the morning. Who would be here at this hour? She drew her wand instinctively and thought to herself, 'Your past has made you paranoid'.

“Honestly Granger, are you really going to hex me? I thought we had grown up and moved past that.”

She heard his smooth voice and mocking tone before she saw him, and before his shocking white hair and pale skin came into focus she knew who was coming towards her. She was finally about to have her first encounter with the new Potions Master.


	2. An Encounter To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my chapter are short. For now I want to keep them that way, but eventually they will probably get longer.

Hermione rolled her eyes and tucked her wand back into its designated hiding spot, allowing her had to hover nearby, however.

"Malfoy. What a _pleasant_ surprise" she drawled." All teasing aside, his presence did peak her curiosity. “What brings you to the library at this hour?", she asked, trying to sound as disinterested and irritated as possible.

The corners of his mouth quirked upwards ever so slightly as he replied. "Ever heard of the expression ‘curiosity killed the cat’, Granger? Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to know everything. I could ask you the same thing, but frankly, I’m pretty certain I already know the answer. Just because you feel like a rebel roaming the shelves of the restricted section in the wee hours of the morning doesn't mean that you own-" Before he could even finish his sarcastic quip, she cut him off.

"What did you just say?" Hermione was incredulous. How had he know that? She knew from experience that he was always a clever boy, and that she and her friends had always underestimated that very Slytherin quality of his, but this seemed to boarder on Legilimency. It seemed to Hermione like too much of a coincidence for him to articulate something she was thinking of only a moment before. She moved her hand so that she was, once again, touching her wand.

She was staring daggers at him, but failed until that very moment to notice that his grey-blue eyes were boring a hole straight through her head. Before she could get another word out, he tilted his head to the left. He cracked a small smile and spoke in a light teasing tone that, until now, she would have thought an impossible feat.

"God Granger. For someone ‘the brightest witch of her age’ you can be pretty dim sometimes. I think you forget that we were in the same class and that I was in your presence quite often. I don’t need to be a Ligilimens to know that you’re still a goody two-shoes. Why don’t you go out and break some real rules, and leave me alone to study in peace".

At that he turned away, apparently done with the conversation. She watched as he climbed up the ladder behind her. He was of average height, around 5'9 she estimated, and thin. Not thin in a sickly or gangly way, but in a taught and fit way. The moonlight seeping in through the windows made his hair shimmer like newly fallen snow and his skin shine like a specter. She couldn't deny the improvement over when they were kids. Hermione shook the thoughts from her head and picked up the tome she had been reading before being so rudely interrupted, and as she went to place the book back, she realized just how exhausted she really was and swayed gently on her feet.

"Leave it". A sharp command from the specter behind her. When she turned to face him again, she saw that he was still looking for a book, back turned.

She could feel a familiar anger building. "First off, I don’t take orders from you, Malfoy. Secondly, unlike you, I don't want to be inconsiderate because if I don't do it, then one of the house elves or the librarians will have to-", but this time it was his turn to cut in, and her snide remark was left unfinished.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he slowly turned around and peered down at her from his perch. He didn’t even have to say anything. His cool and collected gaze sent a shiver through her entire body and she though to herself, 'This is not the same boy I used to know. This is a man hardened by war and no longer fazed by my jabs'.

After an awkward staring contest, he shook his head, white hair swaying back and forth, the action causing it to glisten even more. "I said just leave it. Go to sleep. I will put it away when I am done here".

His tone seemed almost kind, if not mildly frustrated, no hint of anger or mocking present, and for once Hermione was pleasantly surprised by his actions. "Thank you Draco".

For a split second there was a look of shock plastered on his handsome and perfectly symmetrical face. It was probably because it was one of the only time she had ever called him by his first name, let alone thanked him for anything. She was a little surprised herself. She must really be tired. First it was appraising his looks and then it was thanking him for doing the bare minimum... Just as quickly as the look came on, it was gone again. Wiped clean off his face and replaced by an unaffected gaze.

"Don't flatter yourself Granger. I am not doing this to be nice. I am doing it because I need that particular tome and because I wish for you to leave me alone faster".

She chuckled softly at his attempt to revert back to the same old Malfoy she used to know. But he wasn't really, was he? It was not the time or the place to debate that though.

"Good night Draco". With that, Hermione turned and swiftly left. She heard him mutter, "Hmph. Granger", under his breath and felt his eyes leave her form. She smiled to herself and thought about it as she walked back to her chambers. He was certainly was an enigma this new Potions Master, but perhaps that is why he was so well suited for the position. Snape had always been an odd and impossible puzzle too, and look how he turned out. She was too tired to think on it anymore, but the second the door to her rooms closed behind her and she flopped down on her bed, shutting her eyes, she couldn't help but think that there still might be hope for him yet.


End file.
